*[[Peter Wilson Coldham|Coldham, Peter Wilson]]. ''North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857.'' Baltimore:&nbsp;Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Orange County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

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*[[Peter Wilson Coldham|Coldham, Peter Wilson]]. ''North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857.'' Baltimore:&nbsp;Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Orange County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

*Boogher, William F. ''Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources.'' Washington: n.p., 1903. {{FHL|73108|item}}; digital version at [http://books.google.com/books?id=X1s_AAAAYAAJ Google Books]. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Orange County, see p. 112.]

*Boogher, William F. ''Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources.'' Washington: n.p., 1903. {{FHL|73108|item}}; digital version at [http://books.google.com/books?id=X1s_AAAAYAAJ Google Books]. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Orange County, see p. 112.]

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===== '''''Revolutionary War''''' =====

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===== Revolutionary War =====

'''''Regiments.''''' Service men in Orange County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Orange County supplied soldiers for the:

'''''Regiments.''''' Service men in Orange County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Orange County supplied soldiers for the:

Revision as of 22:22, 5 October 2012

Orange County, Virginia genealogy and family history research page. Guide to Orange County (established 1734) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

Resources

Getting Started

Compiled genealogies are a good place to start research for this area, see Orange County, Virginia Genealogy.

If you are researching families who lived in Orange County, Virginia between the 1740s and 1840s, the Sparacios' books are a great time saver. They comprehensively index several publications covering that period:

The 10,000 name petition (dated 16 October 1776) has been digitized at the Library of Congress website. It was signed by people from all over Virginia who wanted an end to persecution of Baptists by the Established Church. Baptists and Baptist sympathizers alike signed the petition. To find your ancestor in this record, first check Hall's transcription in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy (Vols. 35-38, with annotations in Vol. 39), which is available online at Ancestry ($). It is also available in book form at the Family History Library: FHL Book 975.5 B2vs v. 35-39. Then proceed to the Library of Congress website to see the original images.

Orange County fell within the bounds of the Culpeper Association and the Goshen Association.

Church of England

St. Mark's Parish was organized in 1730. St. Thomas' Parish was organized in 1740.[4]

Immigration

Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Orange County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Local Histories

Hurst, Patricia J. The History and People of Clark Mountain, Orange County, Virginia. Rapidan, Virginia: P.J. Hurst, 1989. FHL Collection

Joyner, Ulysses P. The First Settlers of Orange County, Virginia: A View of the Life and Times of the European Settlers of Orange County, Virginia, and Their Influence Upon the Young James Madison, 1700-1776. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1987. FHL Collection

Mansfield, James Roger. A History of Early Spotsylvania. Berryville, Virginia: Virginia Book Co., 1977. FHL Collection

Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. FHL Collection; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Orange County, see p. 112.]

Revolutionary War

Regiments. Service men in Orange County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Orange County supplied soldiers for the:

Thomas, William H.B. Patriots of the Upcountry: Orange County, Virginia in the Revolution. Orange, Virginia: Orange County Bicentennial Commission, 1976. FHL Collection

A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Bookset. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Orange County on page 132.]

War of 1812

List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Orange County, p. 96. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Orange County, Virginia Genealogy served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Orange County, Virginia Genealogy:

Naturalization

Newspapers

Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. In addition, Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have created a database of all runaway advertisements for slaves, indentured servants, transported convicts, and ship deserters listed in this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Private Papers

Buni, Andrew. "Reconstruction in Orange County, Virginia: A Letter from Hannah Garlick Rawlings to Her Sister, Clarissa Lawrence Rawlings, August 9, 1865," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 75, No. 4 (Oct., 1967), pp. 459-465. Available at JSTOR ($).

Probate Records

A free index to Orange County, Virginia Genealogy wills and administrations (1735-1800) is available at the Library of Virginia website.

Local Court

Wiggins, Mrs. Joseph P. "Will of Robert Terrill, of Orange County, Virginia," (and family notes) [1786] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr., 1923), pp. 175-180. Available at JSTOR ($).

London Courts

Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Orange County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

[1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. FHL Collection [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Orange County is included in Vol. 2.]

[1810] Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. FHL Collection [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Orange County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]

Birth

King, George H.S. "Some Orange County Virginia Birth Records," [1750s-1770s] The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul., 1942), p. 317. Available at JSTOR ($). [Found at the back of Orange County, Virginia Deed Book 17; King may have omitted births of black children.]

Vital Record Substitutes

The Virginia Historical Society's Marriage and Obituary Index, 1736-1820 (newspaper abstracts) is available for free online. Images of the original index cards are browseable, arranged alphabetically by surname.